When Blackbirds Fly
by jemilyjareau
Summary: Emily Prentiss has had feelings for Jennifer Jareau for a long time now. When she finally tells JJ how she feels during a drunken bout of courage, their lives are turned upside down as they try to navigate their newfound relationship. Their lives are changing, and they aren't sure if it's for the worse or for the better. (Rated T for now, may become M later)
1. Chapter 1: A Drunken Confession

Emily had always paid more attention to JJ than to anyone else. She didn't want to admit it, but she was beginning to really like the blonde agent, and she liked her more than she should. Emily was busy filing paperwork for their last case when JJ walked past her desk, carrying a pile of folders filled with possible future cases. Emily watched her go, silently damning herself for feeling this way.

JJ had divorced Will roughly eight months ago when she caught him sleeping with another woman. The divorce itself was peaceful, with Will admitting that he just fell out of love with JJ but didn't want to upset Henry, so he stayed quiet. After a fit of rage, JJ calmed down and the two are still friends as they transfer custody of Henry every other week. Emily didn't understand how JJ could just get over something like cheating so fast, but hell, she was probably using the profiler part of her brain and compartmentalizing everything.

Emily had barely finished the paperwork when Penelope approached her, smiling. "Hey Em, JJ and I are thinking of having a girls' night out tonight since Will has Henry. You in?"

Emily smiled. She loved spending time with her two closest friends. Although recently, she would do almost anything to get a chance to be around JJ. "Hell yeah I'm in. Just let me finish up these last few pages." She signaled to the sheets of paper in front of her.

"Alright Em. I'll be waiting in my car. Don't take too long!" and with that, she walked off, her bright pink high heels practically glowing when she headed down the dark hallway towards the elevator. It wasn't too long before JJ emerged from her office.

"Hey Em, I'm gonna run home really quick and change clothes." She looked down at her drab office outfit and smiled. "I don't think this will work for a night out. Do you want me to swing by your place and grab you something?"

"Hold on JJ, I'm just about finished with this paperwork, and then I'll just ride with you, if you don't mind."

"Not a problem. I'll go tell Pen she can take off without us. I'll drive out of the ramp and meet you out front, okay?"

"Sounds good, I shouldn't be too long." Emily went back to quickly filling out her forms. She heard the clicking of JJ's high heels fade as the woman walked away from her, and then the office fell silent. Emily was the last one there.

She signed her name at the bottom of the last sheet and practically jumped out of her chair, speed walking down the hallway to drop the forms in Hotch's office mailbox. When she had, she just about ran to the elevator. She rode down to the lobby of the building and then walked out to where JJ had said she'd meet her. Sure enough, JJ was sitting in her car, waving Emily over.

Opening the passenger side door, Emily smiled at JJ. "Thanks for doing this. I'm not sure I'd want to go out dressed like this." She said. JJ laughed.

"Em, it's close enough to what you wear out anyway! It's not like you'd ever be caught dead in a dress." Emily laughed along with her.

"Oh, whatever, JJ, it would at least be nice to put on clean clothes for a night out."

"Yeah, you've got a point there."

JJ swerved into the parking lot of Emily's apartment complex. "I figured we'd stop by your place first, since my place is closer to the club."

Emily nodded, smiling. "I'll be right out, if you want to just wait here." She offered. JJ nodded.

"Okay, sounds good. Just promise you won't take too long."

"I promise."

"Alright, go ahead then."

JJ turned the radio on and began singing along to whatever song was playing. Emily didn't pay much attention to modern music; if it wasn't 80's rock, she probably didn't know it. She walked up the steps to her apartment and practically ran inside. Sergio greeted her with a sharp meow, and she reached down to pet him for only a second before walking off towards her closet.

She pulled out a black pantsuit, deciding it was perfect. When she was dressed, she ran a brush through her hair and looked at herself in the mirror. She silently hoped that maybe she could impress JJ tonight, but she knew that the gorgeous blonde was too far out of reach. JJ wasn't even into girls; Emily didn't stand a chance.

She locked her apartment up and headed back outside, and when she opened the passenger side door she was blasted with loud music accompanied by JJ's even louder singing. She managed to recognize the song as "Cheap Thrills" by Sia, one JJ had made her listen to many times before.

"Jesus Jayje, turn it down!" She laughed, closing the car door and putting her seatbelt on. JJ obliged, and there was a glow in her eyes that told Emily she was already having the time of her life. The car's engine kicked on and they were off, headed to JJ's place with Sia still blaring through the car, seeing as JJ hadn't turned it down _that_ much.

They pulled up to JJ's place, and JJ quickly exited the car. "I'll be fast!" She said as she walked towards her front door. Emily waited, not having the luxury of actually listening to any music since JJ had brought her keys with her. Instead, she leaned back in her seat and let her mind wander.

She couldn't help imagining herself dating JJ, holding her hand, dancing with her, going on stupid fun dates, and the like. She smiled as she imagined herself finally gaining to courage to tell her friend that she was in love with her.

Wait. In love? Emily was stunned when she realized that yes, she was _in love_ with Jennifer Jareau. "What the fuck, Em, get it together." she whispered to herself.

Emily waited a few more minutes, not daring to let her mind wander again. She heard JJ's front door open and close and looked up, only to have her jaw drop in amazement.

JJ walked towards the car, her hair perfectly framing her face, and her lips adorned with bright red lipstick. But that isn't what caught Emily's attention the most. JJ was wearing a beautiful strapless black dress that went down to her knees. It was sparkly, and perfect for a night out. Emily couldn't stop herself from admiring the blonde agent's figure. She had finished her outfit off with black stilettos, which clicked down the sidewalk as she approached.

When JJ got in the car, Emily couldn't help herself. "You look _beautiful_." She said. JJ looked at her, a glint of surprise in her eyes at the sudden compliment. "Thanks, Em." She responded, smiling. God, Emily loved her smile.

"Alright, ready to go?"

Emily snapped out of her thoughts. "Yeah, yeah, I'm good." She stammered. JJ gave her a curious look and then the car roared to life and they were on their way.

They had only just left JJ's house when Emily's phone rang. It was Penelope.

"Where are you guys? It's like a sea of men in here, I'm going nuts without my girls!"

"Relax, Pen, we're on our way." Emily replied.

"Oh, and Em, I know you're not super into guys but there's like, no women here. It's a testosterone fueled mess!" Emily laughed a little. Penelope was the only one who knew Emily's sexual preference.

"It's okay Pen, I'm sure we'll all still have a great time. See you soon!" With that, she hung up.

"What was that all about?" JJ asked.

"Oh, she just wants us to hurry up and get there is all. She said it's a 'testosterone fueled mess' in there." Emily laughed as she repeated Penelope's words.

"Oh great. That just means we'll have to deal with more sleazy drunk guys, won't we?" JJ sighed.

"Yeah well, we can still have a great time!" Emily responded happily.

"Hopefully." JJ replied as they pulled into the parking lot of the club. When they entered, Penelope was waiting for them at a table.

"Jesus, she was right, there are hardly any women here!" Emily groaned.

"Damn, I thought she was exaggerating." JJ agreed.

"You guys! I thought you'd never make it. I need my girl power. Come sit, let's order some drinks!" Penelope ran up to her friends, grabbing them and pulling them towards the table.

"Alright girls, I'll go grab drinks. Any special requests?"

"Nope."

"I'll be right back, then." Penelope said, trotting off to get their first round.

When Penelope returned, Emily's eyes nearly bulged out of her head. Penelope had far too many glasses on her tray for three people.

"Alright, JJ, I got you two margaritas. Emily, I got you two shots and a vodka soda."

"Jesus, you meant it when you said girls' night out." Emily commented. "And what are these even shots of?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. The bartender said they were pretty potent."

"Great." Emily sighed before she downed the first shot and started nursing her vodka soda. JJ was already working on her first margarita, and Penelope was downing three shots in one sitting.

"You're insane, Pen." JJ laughed. Penelope shrugged.

"Maybe, but at least I can hold my liquor!" They all laughed and continued to talk and drink, enjoying their time together as friends rather than coworkers.

An hour or two later, a drunk Penelope had gone to dance with some guy that looked like the Walmart version of Derek Morgan. Emily and JJ stayed at the table, both fairly intoxicated, talking about anything and everything they could think of.

"So, my love life has been a mess." JJ slurred suddenly. Emily looked up at her, eyebrows raised. "I mean, since I left Will, it's been so hectic. I can't find anybody I connect with as well as I connect with him." Emily nodded, not too sure what to say. "What about you, Emily? How's your love life?"

Emily hesitated. "Well, not much has been happening, I guess." She couldn't stop herself from saying, "I think I'm in love with someone, though." She regretted it the instant the words left her lips.

JJ practically jumped across the table, grabbing at Emily. "Oooh! Who? Who is it? Tell me!" She demanded. Emily shook her head, refusing, but JJ was relentless. "Tell me! Emily, tell me. Emily! Emily Prentiss you tell me who you're in love with!"

After five minutes of JJ begging her, Emily snapped, the alcohol in her system giving her more courage than she thought she had. "It's you, JJ. I'm in love with you."

This seemed to sober JJ up instantly. She sat back down, her eyes widening. "What?" Emily just stared at her. There was no going back now.

"Jennifer Jareau, I'm in love with you."

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 _ **A/N: Thanks for reading! Please do leave me a review, I'm not 100% positive where I'm going with this story yet and feedback is much appreciated!**_


	2. Chapter 2: Lazy Days and Stormy Nights

JJ just stared across the table in shock. Emily was mortified with herself, and she just stared back, not sure what to say at this point. "Emily, I don't...I don't know what to say." JJ stammered, looking down at her lap. Emily swallowed hard, choking back the tears she knew were coming.

"I need some time to think. Just...don't try to contact me. Please." JJ stood up swiftly and walked out of the club without so much as another word. Emily stared after her, shock and hurt starting to take over. She slowly stood up and found her way to Penelope.

"Pen, I'm gonna head out." She stated. Penelope, who was too drunk to care, just nodded and went back to dancing. Emily left the club before remembering that JJ had been her ride here. In fact, her car was still in the BAU parking ramp. She quickly hailed a taxi and climbed in the back seat. The whole ride home, all she could think of was how royally she'd screwed up.

When the taxi pulled up to her apartment building, Emily wordlessly handed the driver his fare and found her way into her apartment. Sergio greeted her once more, but Emily didn't have the energy to return the hello. She found her way into her bedroom and curled up on her bed, praying to God that the BAU wouldn't have a case for a few more days.

Tears started to flow the more she laid there and thought about what she'd done. Her friendship with JJ was probably ruined, and how would they ever manage to work alongside each other now? Her mind was filled with worries and the absolute desire to text JJ and beg her to forget it ever happened. But JJ didn't want to speak to her, and Emily didn't really blame her.

It was approximately 4am when Emily was awoken from a fitful sleep to loud banging on her door. Instinctively, she grabbed her gun, even though she was half-asleep and too emotional to think straight anyway, if she did have to fire a shot. She approached her front door, but relaxed when she opened it to see Penelope standing there, still drunk, and practically falling over.

"Em, can I crash here? I forgot where I live." Penelope stated bluntly. Emily laughed a little and let her friend inside.

"You can take the couch, Pen. Sleep well, I'll see you in the morning." Penelope practically dropped onto the couch and Emily threw a blanket over her before heading back into her bedroom. Normally she would've taken the couch and let Penelope take her bed, but she didn't think her friend would appreciate the tear-stained pillows, drunk or not.

Emily curled back up under the covers and somehow managed to fall back asleep, but only for a few hours. She quickly found herself awake with sunlight pouring in through the window. She wiped dried tears from her face and sat up, stretching.

When she padded out into the living room, Penelope was still passed out on her couch, as she expected. She took some solace in the fact that Penelope would stay her friend no matter what happened with JJ. But regardless, she still couldn't believe what she had done last night.

Emily sat down at her kitchen table, sipping the Starbucks mocha frappuccino she had pulled from her fridge. She let herself get lost in thought, trying desperately not to focus on the blonde agent she cared for so much.

She polished off the frappuccino within a half an hour and then walked back out to her living room. Sergio weaved in and out of her legs as she walked, and she cursed out loud when the cat managed to trip her up, causing her to fall straight into her coffee table.

All of the noise woke up a hungover Penelope, who groggily looked around and muttered out, "Where am I?" But she quickly realized she was in Emily's apartment, and then saw Emily sitting on the floor next to her coffee table, muttering quietly to herself about how annoying cats can be.

"Good morning, Emily." Penelope stretched and sat up, a huge yawn escaping her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine Pen, thanks." Emily stood up and brushed cat hair off of her legs before sitting down next to her friend.

"Have the lights in here always been this bright?" Penelope complained, squinting her eyes.

"No, that's just because you're hungover as all hell." Emily replied, smiling a bit.

Penelope groaned and leaned back into the couch. "So where's JJ? She usually comes back with us." Emily froze, holding back tears that were already welling up in her eyes.

"JJ went home before us. Wasn't feeling well, I guess." She whispered.

"Alright Emily, I may not be a profiler, but I can tell when my friend isn't telling me the whole truth. Where's JJ?" Penelope demanded.  
Emily sighed and looked over at Penelope, who was looking at her with a mixture of concern and determination to get her answer. "I think I love her." Was all she managed to say. Penelope's eyes widened.

"You're in love with JJ? That's great Em but then why-"

"I told her last night. The alcohol got to me." Emily cut her off, tears starting to flow again.

"Oh no."

"Yeah, she said she needed time to think, and then she basically told me to leave her alone."

"Oh God, Emily, I'm so so sorry." Penelope's gaze had softened as she watched her usually stoic friend come completely undone in front of her.

"It's fine, I'll be fine, I guess, I just don't know what to do. What if she hates me now? What if she tells Hotch and gets me kicked off the team? What if she's so disgusted by me that she can never bear to speak to me again? What if-"

"Slow down, Emily. JJ could never, ever hate you. You're her best friend! And Hotch wouldn't kick you off the team, even if JJ was mean enough to tell him - which she's not, mind you. She'll speak to you again. Just give her the time she asked for. I'm sure you just caught her by surprise. She needs to process this." Penelope stopped Emily mid-speech and put her arm around her.

"Are you sure, Pen?"

"I'm sure."

Emily nodded, slightly comforted by Penelope's reassuring words. Surely she was right. Surely JJ couldn't _hate_ her for this.

"Look, Emily. Worst case scenario, she doesn't return your feelings. Best case scenario, she does."

"She won't return my feelings."

"You don't know that. Have some hope."

"Penelope, if I've learned one thing doing this job, it's that hope kills."

A few hours later, after watching some TV game shows and eating some pancakes, Penelope was gone, leaving Emily alone to her thoughts. She sat, curled up on the couch under a big fuzzy blanket, watching a thunderstorm roll in from her window.

It was unusual that she have a full day off from the BAU, considering there was usually at least some paperwork to be done. But Hotch hadn't called her in, so she took advantage of the gloomy day and took some time to relax at home.

Of course, she couldn't fully relax, because her mind kept wandering back to JJ. What was the beautiful blonde thinking right now? What was she doing? Was she okay? No matter what Emily did, her thoughts always seemed to circle back to JJ.

Emily just let her mind wander, giving up on trying to control its path, and made herself a warm cup of chamomile tea. She sat and drank it, listening to the thunder roll overhead and watching the lightning strike through the sheets of pouring rain.

Raindrops spattered against her windows, the wind blowing them into the glass, and Emily watched with amusement as Sergio tried to chase after each raindrop. Suddenly, she heard a quiet knock at her door. After a brief pause, there was a slightly more assertive knock, and Emily got up to go and see who the hell would come visit her in the middle of a raging storm.

Now normally she would have brought her gun with to the door for protection, or at least looked through the peephole to see who was there. But this time, she felt strangely compelled to just open the door.

There, standing in front of her, was none other than Jennifer Jareau, dripping wet from rain. "Can I come in?" She asked hesitantly. Emily just stared at her in shock.

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 _ **A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I know it's a bit shorter but I'm happy with it! Thanks for all the love on my last chapter!**_


	3. Chapter 3: Leaving Her Mark

JJ shifted her weight from side to side awkwardly, glancing up at Emily. "Yeah, of course, JJ, come right in." Emily opened the door further for her friend. "Let me get you a towel. Sit down, please." Emily headed into her bathroom, grabbing a clean towel from the cabinet under the sink. She handed it to JJ, who was shivering at this point.

"Thanks Emily." JJ wrapped the towel around herself and sat down on Emily's couch. Emily sat down in a chair across from her. The two sort of awkwardly stared at each other for a few seconds, but to Emily, those seconds felt like hours. "So, I figured we should talk." JJ said, almost too quietly for Emily to hear her.

Emily nodded. "That would be good." She replied. There were a few more seconds of awkward staring before JJ cleared her throat.

"I didn't mean to just up and leave last night." She started. "You just completely caught me off guard and I didn't have any idea how to react. So I ran. I went home because I had to process it. I didn't even know you were into girls, Emily. So this was more than a surprise."

Emily half smiled, and JJ paused before continuing. "Listen, Emily. Throughout the past few years we've spent a remarkable amount of time together. All the cases the team has worked, the times we've had to share hotel rooms, the nights out with Pen, all of it. You're my best friend. But some time ago, I started feeling like there was something more."

Emily's eyes widened in complete shock but she didn't say anything as JJ carried on. "I didn't know what it was. I haven't felt any kind of connection like that with anybody since Will. Especially not with another woman. I tried to push it aside and not think about it, but the feeling just kept growing. I couldn't get it to stop. Honestly, even when I had finally admitted to myself that I did want some kind of a relationship with you, I didn't think I stood a chance."

JJ wasn't looking at Emily, but Emily couldn't take her eyes off of JJ. The blonde was fidgeting, staring at her lap, obviously nervous. In an odd way, it was adorable. "So, because I didn't want to end up getting hurt, I just tried to ignore all of the feelings that were building up in my head. Then, last night, when you said you loved me, it was like something exploded inside of me and I didn't know how to contain it. But, I guess what I'm saying is, I don't know if it's love, but I know I want something that's more than friends."

Emily couldn't stop herself from smiling. She got up and went to sit next to JJ, who was still staring at her lap as though she expected Emily would tell her she wasn't in love with her after all. Emily gently tilted JJ's face towards hers, instantly getting lost in those beautiful blue eyes. "I do too, JJ. I want to be more than friends." She whispered.

"But what about work? What if Hotch, or even worse, Strauss finds out?" JJ replied.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there."

It was Emily who closed the distance between them, her lips meeting JJ's and her arms wrapping around her. The kiss was soft and gentle, and Emily felt like she was on cloud nine. JJ tasted like cinnamon and sugar, and she wanted more.

JJ pulled back first, her blue eyes blazing with a fire Emily had never seen before. There was a brief moment where they stayed that way, arms around each other, staring into each other's eyes, and then JJ pushed Emily back onto the couch and kissed her again.

It wasn't as gentle this time, not even remotely. Both women had wanted this for longer than they cared to admit. JJ had Emily pinned by her wrists and was kissing her ravenously, drinking her in like Emily's very essence was the oxygen she needed to breathe. Tongues met, teeth clashed, and Emily let out a soft moan when JJ pulled back, biting down on Emily's lower lip as she did so.

They stayed on the couch like that for hours, but to them it only felt like minutes. At some point, Emily had managed to flip them around, and they ended up with JJ half laying on the coffee table, one hand wrapped in Emily's hair and the other on the ground to stabilize her.

It wasn't long before Emily decided she'd had enough of messing around and had pulled JJ up off of the table and into her bedroom. They barely made it down the hallway before JJ had Emily up against a wall, trailing kisses down her neck and to her collarbone. She paused for a second, her fingers tugging at the edge of Emily's shirt.

Emily smirked. "It's cute that you think you're in charge." She whispered. "Because I've been waiting for this moment for a very, very long time Jennifer Jareau.."

JJ took a moment to collect herself and then stared Emily down. "Yeah, well, I'm pretty fucking good at taking charge when I want it."

The sound of a phone ringing wildly woke the two women up, and they found themselves tangled in Emily's sheets, their clothes strewn about the bedroom. Emily lazily picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Prentiss. It's Hotch. We've got a case. Can you be here in twenty minutes?" Emily sat up quickly, looking over at JJ, who was still waking up.

"Yeah, I'll be there, and I can pick up JJ on my way." She hung up the phone and sighed. Of course they had a case today.

"Do we have to go to work?" JJ asked sleepily. Emily slid down and kissed JJ gently.

"Yeah, we do. Which is too bad, because I was planning on taking you on a real date tonight. Somewhere fancy, with cocktails and food we can't pronounce the name of."

"Oh, Emily, that sounds like it would have been wonderful." JJ replied, stretching and lazily grabbing at Emily.

"We'll have to postpone it, darling."

Of course, Emily had no damn idea what last night even meant for them. She wanted to officially be JJ's girlfriend, but they had yet to go out on an actual date. She knew this was more than just a one night stand, and she was grateful for that. But they'd have to wait to talk about it, because they only had twenty minutes to get ready and get to the BAU.

As the two women got ready to go, throwing on clothes and grabbing Emily's go-bag, (JJ thanked God that hers was in her car) they chatted about small things, neither of them wanting to breach a subject that was too deep to tackle in such a short time.

As Emily was adjusting her shirt, she realized that she had a dark mark right on her collarbone, and it was certainly visible with the shirt she was wearing. "JJ, look at this!"She exclaimed, gasping.

JJ couldn't help but laugh a little, although she knew that Emily would get a lot of shit from their coworkers - especially Morgan - for having a hickey. Especially one that dark. JJ didn't even realize she was capable of that. Then again, last night had been crazy.

"I don't have time to cover it with makeup, so we're just gonna have to go. But I am _so_ getting you back for this." Emily stated as she headed down the hall and out the door.

"Can't wait." JJ called in response. They practically ran to JJ's car and drove as fast as they could to Quantico. Emily's car was still in the BAU ramp, but she'd have to worry about that later.

Now on any normal day, Emily and JJ coming into work together wouldn't make anyone bat an eye. They drove together all the time, and everyone knew how good of friends they were. So most of their friends didn't really take notice when they stepped into the bullpen at the same time. But Penelope certainly noticed. A huge grin was forming on her face as the two women walked past.

Penelope took note of the fact that both of her friends looked a bit disheveled, and Emily's hair was all tangled in the back. When she noticed the bruise on Emily's collarbone, she practically jumped out of her seat.

Emily whipped around to stare at her. "Keep. Quiet." She ordered.

"Fine, fine, but I better get all the juicy details later!"

Emily and JJ both laughed and they all made their way to the conference room.

Before Hotch could even begin speaking, Morgan whistled loudly. "Woah, Prentiss, what's with that little mark there, huh?"

Emily's face turned pink, and JJ did her best not to look obvious. She was in a room of expert profilers, after all. "It's just a bruise. I, uh, Sergio-"

"Just a bruise my ass! Prentiss, who's the lucky man who finally tamed you?"

Emily wanted to reach across the table and slap him, but she didn't. "No man can tame me, Morgan." She responded.

"Then who's the lucky woman?" He asked casually, as if the fact that Emily was a lesbian didn't surprise him at all.

Emily's face turned even redder as all her coworkers turned to look at her. "Shut up, Derek. Don't act like you know me."

"Ooh, touchy. Hey JJ, you guys are close, do you know anything about this?"

JJ did her best to try to stop the blood from rushing straight to her cheeks. "Nope. I didn't even notice it until you pointed it out."

"Bullshit, Jareau, it's so obviously noticeable. You know something."

"No, Derek, I don't."

Morgan just smiled. "I'll find out who the lucky lady is someday."

Hotch cleared his throat, obviously ready to start going over the case. Emily was just relieved that no one really cared that she was gay. If there was a casual way to come out at work, she had just done it. JJ patted her leg comfortingly under the table, and Emily smiled at her. Derek was still glancing at her from time to time, and it was clear that he wouldn't leave her alone until he got some answers.

Emily just prayed to God that Penelope wouldn't say anything. She wasn't even _officially_ with JJ yet, and she didn't want her coworkers - especially her supervisor - thinking she had just hooked up with JJ for the hell of it. No, they'd have to wait until she was ready to tell them.

Hotch turned on the projector, and he and Garcia handed out folders with case information in them. Emily skimmed over hers, and when she looked up, both Penelope and Morgan were looking right at her with smiles on their faces.

She buried her head in her case folder and silently hoped this would all work out okay.

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 _ **A/N: Thanks for your support, I really appreciate it! Keep leaving reviews please, it's very helpful. I hope you guys like this chapter! If it seems a little rushed, I am sorry, I wrote it in my downtime at work.**_


	4. Chapter 4: A Fancy Dinner Date

"We have a possible spree killer on our hands in Pensacola, Florida." Hotch began, signaling to the screen as Garcia pulled up three pictures of dead women, all three of them had their throats slit and had been stabbed ten times. "These women were killed only a day apart." Hotch said, looking over the room.

Emily glanced over the file. "So what do you mean, 'possible spree killer'? Isn't it obvious that we have a case here?" She asked.

Hotch sighed. "Well, we're having some issues with the local PD letting us work the case. They aren't sure the murders are at all related."

Emily rolled her eyes. "It's so blatantly clear that they are related, how can't they see that?"

"I don't know, Emily, but it doesn't matter. Rossi and I are going to fly out today to talk to them and go over all the case files again. If they allow us to take over the case, I'll send Rossi back with the jet to pick you all up." Hotch said, closing his file folder.

Emily looked across the table to JJ, whose eyes were fixated on the mark on Emily's collarbone. She was smirking slightly. Emily cleared her throat and JJ looked up to meet her eyes, and then smiled slyly. Garcia was watching their exchange with wide, excited eyes. Hotch didn't even seem to notice.

"Let's go, Rossi. Wheels up in thirty." Rossi stood up and followed Hotch out of the room, and the rest of the team began to collect their things.

"So, Emily, seriously, who's the lucky lady?" Derek asked, smiling wide.

"Derek, please, I don't want to have this conversation. It's not a big deal."

"Fine. But I better be the first one to know if it _does_ become a big deal." Derek said, still smiling as he strode out of the room with Reid on his heels.

When the three BAU ladies were alone in the room, Garcia let out a squeal. "I can't believe you two!" She said quietly. Emily laughed, but JJ looked a bit confused.

"Pen how did you know?"

"Emily and I had a little conversation yesterday in her apartment." Penelope winked. "Plus, you should know by now, I'm all-knowing."

With a smile, Penelope walked out of the conference room, leaving JJ and Emily alone. Emily turned to look at JJ. "Remember how I said I wanted to take you on a fancy date? Maybe to the new French restaurant in town?"

JJ smiled, looking down at her shoes. "Yeah, I remember."

"Well, here's what's going to happen. I'm going to drop you off at home, and then at 6:00pm tonight, I'm going to pick you back up, and take you out on a real date."

"Wow, Emily, I never would've guessed that you're a romantic." JJ laughed. "But yes, I will be ready and waiting at 6:00pm on the dot."

It was 5:00pm and Emily still didn't know what she was going to wear. It wasn't like she had to really _impress_ JJ, but she wanted to look as beautiful as she possibly could. She combed through her closet, finally landing on a pair of black dress pants and a black blazer over a white shirt. It wasn't as fancy as JJ would probably look, but Emily had decided long ago that she wouldn't wear a dress for _anyone_.

Once she was dressed, she pulled out a pair of black heels and a nice silver choker to wear. She brushed her hair out and pinned some of it behind her head with a silver hair clip. God, she really was going all out for this date.

By the time 5:30 rolled around, Emily had begun to work on her makeup. She never wore that much makeup, and she didn't want to wear too much on this date. So she decided to just wear some mascara, dust her cheeks with blush, and wear a nice mauve lipstick. She stood up and spun around once, looking herself over in the mirror. She hoped this would be enough for JJ.

Emily spent the next fifteen minutes nervously pacing her apartment, trying to get rid of her "first date jitters". But finally, the time came to leave to pick up JJ.

Emily pulled into JJ's driveway and then stepped out of her car and walked up to the front door to officially pick up her date. But there was no way Emily could have prepared herself for what she would see when the door opened.

JJ stood there in a long red dress that only had a strap on the left shoulder and had a long slit running down the leg on the right side. She was wearing matching red heels and a silver necklace, with her hair pinned in an intricate updo. Her makeup was flawless, as usual. She had gone so far as to contour, and wear bold winged eyeliner with shiny red lipstick.

Emily couldn't stop herself from looking JJ up and down multiple times. When her eyes met JJ's, the blonde agent was smirking. "So I take it I've impressed you." She stated, laughing.

"Well, yeah." Emily replied, looking JJ over one more time. "You look absolutely stunning."

"As do you, miss Prentiss." JJ replied, bouncing a little as she walked out the door. "Let's go, I've been craving this damn French food all night."

When they were in the car, Emily inhaled and could smell flowery perfume on JJ. She almost melted in her seat. Instead of losing her shit, she started up the car and pulled out of the driveway. JJ relaxed against the passenger seat, quietly singing to herself.

"You know, I've wanted to take you on a fancy date since the day I laid eyes on you." Emily admitted suddenly. It was true; she'd cared for JJ from the moment they met. The kind, compassionate blonde agent had always held a special place in her heart.

JJ smiled at her. "Ever since Will and I divorced, and even some time before that, I've started to notice how beautiful and amazing you are." She replied. "You put so much effort into your work, and watching you take down a criminal has always given me a rush."

Emily blushed furiously. "You're amazing, JJ, I hope you realize that." JJ smiled at her softly, her eyes glowing with more emotion than Emily had seen before. But she quickly refocused her attention on the road as they pulled up to the French restaurant.

There were no other cars in the parking lot, and Emily glanced around in concern. When she walked up to the front door, there was a sign hanging on it. "Closed until further notice!" She yelled angrily. "I can't believe this! Now we're all dressed up with nowhere to go."

"Well, we could go somewhere else. What other restaurants are around here?"

"Nothing but a Burger King." Emily replied, defeated. But JJ had a sparkle in her eye.

"So let's go to Burger King! Who said we had to go to some overpriced restaurant anyway? I'm always in the mood for a good burger!"

Emily looked at her, confused. "But we're all dressed up. Won't we look a little weird?"

"Emily, who cares? We'll have fun! Come on!"

JJ took off for the car and Emily, laughing, followed her. "Fine, you win! Burger King it is!"

When they walked through the doors of Burger King, practically everyone in the building turned to stare at them. They paid no notice, ordering their food and taking a seat at a booth near the window.

"This is _crazy_ , JJ." Emily laughed. "Everyone is staring at us!"

JJ smirked, glancing around to make sure she didn't recognize anyone around them, and then leaned across the table, grabbing Emily by the collar of her shirt. Emily gasped, and JJ silenced her with a smile. "Well then, let's give them something worthwhile to stare at."

JJ leaned into Emily, kissing her softly. Emily kissed her back, smiling as she heard a few surprised gasps around them. They pulled apart, sitting back down, and looked to see even more people staring at them. They just laughed and started eating.

"I cannot believe you just kissed me in a restaurant full of people. What if we know someone here?"

"We don't, I made sure of that. I'm not stupid, Emily!"

"Sometimes I wonder."

"Hey!"

"What?"

"I am not stupid!"

"Well you're not stupid, but you're stupid hot."

JJ burst out laughing at the compliment and Emily followed suit. Here they were, two FBI agents, sitting in fancy outfits in a Burger King, laughing so hard they were crying. Here they were, drawing attention to themselves when JJ would lean across the table and plant another kiss on Emily's lips. Here they were, having the time of their lives, and never wanting to go home.

But of course, the night did come to an end, and they were headed home. But when Emily pulled up to JJ's house to drop her off, JJ hesitated. "Emily, do you maybe want to spend the night here?" She asked, turning towards Emily.

Emily looked over at her. "I thought you'd never ask." She replied, practically jumping out of the car.

The two of them had barely made it into the house before JJ's dress was in a pool on the floor and Emily was getting to work on the revenge she'd promised JJ for giving her that hickey.

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 _ **A/N: As always, thanks for the support! Please continue to leave reviews, it really does help me out. I love and appreciate you all so much!**_


	5. Chapter 5: Hard to Profile

Once again, a ringing cell phone woke the two women up. Only this time, it was JJ's. She rolled over, disentangling herself from Emily, and grabbed the phone off of her nightstand, pushing Emily's shirt out of the way because it had somehow managed to land there last night.

"Hey, Garcia, what's up?"

"Hotch just called. He wants the rest of the team to fly out today. Rossi's waiting with the jet. It's wheels up in an hour."

"Shit, okay, just let me wake Emily up."

Penelope paused briefly on the other end, and JJ could almost _hear_ her smirking. "So she spent the night, then?"

"Yes, Pen, she did. Please, we can talk about this later, but it's going to take us a little while to get ready, so I've gotta go."

"Alright, my love. Garcia out."

JJ hung up the phone and immediately turned to start shaking Emily awake. Emily swatted her away with a groan, and JJ sighed. "Emily, seriously, wake up, we have to be on the jet in an hour."

Emily opened her eyes groggily. "The Escambia County PD came through, then?"

"Yes, they did. And it's a twenty minute drive, so we have forty minutes to pull ourselves together."

Emily sat up and stretched, then rubbed her eyes and looked over at JJ. "Shit, your makeup is so smeared." She commented, suppressing a laugh.

"I know it is, and so is yours. We need to hurry up and clean up. And you've really gotta cover that hickey; we don't need the police, the press, and the victims' parents seeing it."

"Fuck, you're right. At least I had the courtesy to only leave them in places you could cover up!"

JJ blushed and looked down at her chest and stomach, which were sporadically spotted with dark markings. "Shut up, I didn't even realize I had given you one until the day after."

"Well, I certainly don't want Morgan asking any more questions. Come on, let's get ready to go." Emily wrapped herself up in the bedsheet and stood up. "Honestly, Jayje, did you _have_ to throw my clothes everywhere?"

"Sorry." JJ giggled, walking over to her dresser. "It's not like that's what you'd want to wear today anyway. You'll have to borrow something of mine."

"You're right. At least I've got my go-bag on me."

JJ nodded, pulling out a black pencil skirt and a white blouse for herself. "Here, I've got a whole drawer of slacks over here, and you can borrow a blouse as well." She said, pulling her clothes on.

"Thanks. Hopefully no one notices these are your clothes." Emily said, gathering up a black blouse and black slacks.

"No one will, it's not like they're monogrammed."

"Yeah, I guess."

Once both women were dressed, they headed to the bathroom to tackle their hair and makeup.

"God, my mascara is nearly impossible to get off, and it's all over my face!" JJ complained.

"Just do your best, and if there's anything left you can cover it with foundation." Emily offered. Her makeup was much easier to take off since she'd barely worn any.

After their faces were clean, they swiped new makeup on, Emily having to forego foundation because her skin tone didn't match JJ's. When it came time to do their hair, both women struggled immensely.

"I can't believe how tangled our hair got." Emily said, laughing a little as she worked a comb through the mess that was the back of her hair.

JJ agreed with a sharp cry of pain as her brush ripped through a tangled spot.

After they'd both made themselves look presentable, they pulled on jackets, slipped on their shoes and headed out the door, with Emily complaining about having to wear the same shoes she wore the night before.

Twenty minutes later, the pair was the last to arrive. "Let's go, ladies. You're right on time." Rossi greeted them as they boarded the plane and took two seats across from each other. Morgan and Reid were also seated together, and Rossi already had Penelope set up on a video call.

The plane took off without a hitch, and the team had nearly three hours to talk basics. Rossi opened up his folder and gestured for the rest of the team to do the same.

"So, while Hotch and I were trying to convince the Escambia County PD that they did, in fact, have a case, the spree killer got two more women."

"Two women in one day? Jesus, we'd better hurry." Morgan commented.

"Yeah, we're going to have to work this case fast, because he's escalating. We don't know why he's killing yet, especially since he doesn't seem to have a type." Rossi said, paging through the folder that had the victims' pictures in it.

"Well, he _is_ only targeting women, so that's a start." Emily offered.

"Yes, it is. Unfortunately for us, he will be harder to profile because he's killed two white women, one with blonde hair and one a redhead, two african-american women, and one hispanic woman. He doesn't care about race, hair color, or even eye color. He's just killing at random."

"What if it isn't random? What if each of these women wronged him somehow?" JJ put in.

"It's possible, but with the rate he's killing at, and the fact that each of these women come from different demographics, it isn't likely."

"Right, but we still need to consider it."

"Normally we would consider it, but so far Penelope has found no connection between the women."

"Right, but I've only run a basic check. I'm digging for more as we speak." Penelope put in from the screen behind Rossi.

Rossi nodded towards Penelope. "We've got her covering that, so we're going to work on piecing together our profile. When we land, I want Morgan and Reid to go to the two dump sites he's used to far, and I want Emily and JJ to speak to the victims' parents. Hotch and I are going to continue working with the local PD to get as much information as we can on potential suspects."

Emily and JJ smiled at each other. "Glad we get to work as a team." Emily whispered. JJ's smile widened and she buried her face in her folder, trying to hide her obvious feelings from the expert profilers sitting just a few feet away from her.

When the team landed in Florida, they took off for Pensacola's police department, quickly getting set up in an office and preparing interrogation rooms as well as spaces to speak to the parents of the victims. Hotch met up with them in the office space, quickly excusing himself and Rossi to start going through the non-digital files that Penelope couldn't access.

Emily and JJ headed over to speak to a detective working the case, Detective Alison King. They introduced themselves, Emily thanking God that she'd been able to use JJ's makeup to cover up the mark on her collarbone.

"The parents of Stacey Kiminick will be here soon, as will the parents of Kira Rodriguez." Detective King said as she shook JJ's hand.

"Great. What about the parents of the other three women?" Emily asked.

"Unfortunately, Katie Pruitt's parents are refusing to talk to us. We don't know why; it seems like their grief is too much for them to handle. Alexa Jameson's parents are flying in from France where they were vacationing, but we aren't sure when they'll be here. And Mira Robinson's parents are stuck at an airport in Kentucky. There's a storm going on down there and all flights are grounded so far."

Emily and JJ nodded. "Alright. We'll talk to Stacey and Kira's parents, and hopefully Alexa and Mira's parents will show up. Even if they don't, talking to the parents isn't a crucial part of the profile with this case since the women don't seem to be connected. We just like to cover our bases." JJ said.

Detective King nodded. "Keith and Jamie Kiminick should be here any minute. Why don't you just relax until they get here." Her sentence was nearly cut off by the sound of the precinct door opening and closing, and she turned to see a couple coming through the door, both of their faces tear-stained.

"There they are now. I'll set them up in one of the rooms you've prepared."

"No need for that, Detective. Agent Prentiss and I will take care of it." JJ stated firmly, walking towards the couple and signaling for Emily to follow her.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Kiminick, we are so sorry for your loss. My name is Jennifer Jareau, and this is Emily Prentiss. We're with the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI." JJ introduced them, a sympathetic smile on her face.

Neither of the two answered them as they solemnly shook the hands of the agents. "We're going to head into this room over here." Emily said, signaling to a room on their left. "Would either of you like any water or coffee?"

"I'd love some water, thank you." Jamie answered quietly.

"Of course, ma'am." Emily answered, whisking off to the water cooler. JJ led the two into the room and closed the door after Emily returned with a cup of water. They sat down across from the Kiminicks and Emily signaled to JJ to start talking, since she was so much better at these things than Emily was.

"We'd just like to talk to you a little bit about your daughter, Stacey. It would help us get a better idea of who she is, and could help us catch the guy who did this to her." JJ began.

Jamie let out a loud sob, tears starting to flood down her face. Keith put his arm around her and looked at JJ and Emily. His face looked tired and worn, like he'd exhausted all of his tears. "Stacey was an amazing woman. She was in college, training to become a nurse." He began.

"She never failed a class. She was always on the honor roll. And she was one of the kindest people you could ever meet. She always gave money to the homeless, and she started volunteering at the childrens' hospital when she was fourteen."

Emily nodded. "It sounds like she was a wonderful young woman."

Jamie nodded, then looked up through her tear-filled eyes."You're going to catch the son of a bitch who did this to our baby, right?"

"We're going to do our absolute best." JJ affirmed.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and Hotch entered. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I need to speak to you two." He said.

JJ and Emily stood. "Let us know if you need anything at all." JJ offered before following Hotch and Emily out the door.

"What's going on?" Emily asked.

"They found another body."

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 _ **A/N: Thank you yet again for your love and support! Within the next month I'm going to write multiple chapters and upload them within a week of each other so you guys get more consistent updates. Thank you for your patience!**_


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